Hillsdale welcomes Grads Vote event

By COURTNEY DASY
T-G Staff WriterPublished: October 3, 2012 4:00AM

HILLSDALE DISTRICT -- "The future of this country is not just in the hands of elected officials like me," Ohio Secretary of State John Husted told Hillsdale High School seniors Tuesday. "It's now in your hands, too."

Husted spoke at Hillsdale on the first day of early voting in the state as part of his Grads Vote 2012 Tour. He said the purpose of his visit was to make election issues feel relevant to high school seniors so the students will register and vote as soon as they become eligible.

"I'm hoping that they understand how privileged we are as Americans," he said.

Unlike citizens of some countries, he told students, Americans can impact government policy at the ballot box without resorting to violence.

When the 26th Amendment was passed 40 years ago, Husted said, having the right to vote was important to 18-year-olds because they faced being drafted. Now, he said, voting is just as important as it was during the Vietnam War because the nation's debt crisis will affect students' futures.

Using a diagram, Husted gave students a visual representation of the difference between one billion and one trillion and explained the national debt is growing by more than a trillion dollars each year.

"If you don't fix it, who is supposed to fix it?" Husted said. "It's not up to your parents anymore."

When a student asked the secretary of state what the Republican plan for the national debt crisis was, Husted said there is no set Republican or Democratic plan but that he believes neither President Barack Obama nor challenger Mitt Romney has an aggressive enough plan to stop what he called "generational theft," government spending at a rate that will harm future generations.

"We are all getting more from the government than we are willing to pay right now," he said. "That can't last."

By casting their votes, Husted said, young people can have a say in the solution to the national debt -- by raising taxes or by cutting programs, or likely, both.

Husted was candid in telling students he had no interest in politics when he was in high school.

"When I was your age, I was a high school football player and I wanted to be a college football coach," he said.

But now, Husted said he believes students should care not only about the presidential election but also about state and local races and ballot issues.

He encouraged students to vote on the Hillsdale school levy issue, saying, "What happens here next year is really going to be affected by the outcome of this election."

Voting, Husted said, is the minimum responsibility of citizens in a free society. He suggested volunteering for a campaign or at the polls and even running for office one day.

"I went to a small high school and no one there had ever been elected for anything," he said. "Whatever you want to do in life, you can do it."